Dispensing device for rolled sheet material

ABSTRACT

The apron taper has a frame structure upon which a roll of sheet material is rotatably supported so that said material can be unwound from the roll and passed over a cutting edge mounted on the frame for separation of a portion of the material from the remainder of the roll. One or more rolls of tape having adhesive material thereon are rotatably supported upon the frame and guided to engage the sheet material, preferably adjacent an edge thereof, so that the tape and sheet material are caused to adhere to each other automatically as the sheet material is removed from its roll.

United States Patent Inventor Edward Waltz Grand Rapids, Mich.

Appl. No. 871,078

Filed Sept. 15, 1969 Patented Dec. 28, 1971 Assignee The E. 0. Bulman Manufacturing Company, Inc. Grand Rapids, Mich.

Original application Feb. 9, 1967, Ser. No. 614,874, new Patent No. 3,555,060. Divided and this application Sept. 15, 1969, Ser. No. 871,078

DISPENSING DEVICE FOR ROLLED SHEET MATERIAL 4 Claims, 12 Drawing Figs.

11.8. CI 225/21, 225/77, 225/88, 225/90 Int. Cl 82613/02 Field of Search 225/21, 34, 35, 77-80, 88, 90, 91, 46; 248/l88.l, 175; 297/459 Primary ExaminerAndrew R. Juhasz Assistant Examiner-Leon Gilden Attorney-Woodhams, Blanchard and Flynn ABSTRACT: The apron taper has a frame structure upon which a roll of sheet material is rotatably supported so that said material can be unwound from the roll and passed over a cutting edge mounted on the frame for separation of a portion of the material from the remainder of the roll. One or more rolls of tape having adhesive material thereon are rotatably supported upon the frame and guided to engage the sheet material, preferably adjacent an edge thereof, so that the tape and sheet material are caused to adhere to each other automatically as the sheet material is removed from its roll.

NH Z

Patented Dec. 28, 1971 3,630,421

3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented Dec. 28, 1971 I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 mi/w INVENTOR fDMPD 'WZTZ MKM 17/ Patented Dec. 28, 1971 3,630,421

3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 50mm W417i I v flaws/ DISPENSING DEVICE FOR ROLLED SHEET MATERIAL CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 614,874, filed Feb. 9, 1967, US. Pat. No. 3,555,060 entitled TUBULAR APRON TAPER.

The use of automatic apron tapers has become widespread, and well known, particularly in the field of painting and decorating where the aprons are used to protect areas near the painting or similar operation. Many structures have been developed for supporting a roll of paper or other sheet material and a roll of adhesive tape which is applied to an edge of the paper to form the apron. As a rule, some form of cutting edge is provided as part of the machine for separating selected portions of the combined tape and sheet material from the remainder of their rolls. However existing machines for this purpose have been heavy, cumbersome and, accordingly, difficult to move and to handle.

There are many occasions when the person using this type of equipment should, to save time, move it from one location to another as he applies the aprons. Yet, it is desireable that such machine should be stable and capable of performing all of the functions which are performed by the larger heavier and more complicated machines.

Accordingly, it has been a primary object of this invention to provide an improved apron taper which is light in weight rugged in construction and readily capable of movement from one location of use to another without risking disengagement of the rolls of material therefrom or a misadjustment of the operating parts as a result of such movement.

A further object of the invention has been the provision of an apron taper, as aforesaid, which can be quickly and easily loaded, which has a large capacity, which can be easily adjusted for various positions of operation and, therefore, which is capable of use in a variety of positions of operation.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of an apron taper, as aforesaid, having a support structure readily adjustable to a variety of sizes of sheet material and tape locations and which is readily adaptable for manufacture in a variety of sizes without significant changes in design.

A further object of this invention is the provision of an apron taper, as aforesaid, which can also be used as a dispenser of sheet material form a roll thereof without disturbing the apron-taping capability of the device.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the following specification and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a broken, top plan view of an apron taper embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line Il-ll in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, sectional view taken along the line llIIIl in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged and broken, sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI--VI in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a broken fragment of FIG. 1 illustrating an alternate use of the apron taper.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to that appearing in FIG. 6 and illustrating a modified version of the invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line x--x in FIG. 7.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along the line XI-Xl in FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a fragment of FIG. 3 and showing a modified construction.

For convenience in description, the terms upper," lower" and words of similar import will have reference to .the apron taper as appearing in FIG. 2. The terms "from" and "rear will have reference to the right and left ends, respectively, of the apron taper as appearing in FIG. 1 and 2. The terms inner, outer" and derivatives thereof will have reference to the geometric center of said apron taper and parts thereof.

DESCRIPTION The apron taper 10, of which FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment, is comprised of a U-shaped frame 11, a support roller 12, a first tape holder 13, a second tape holder 14, and a cutter bar assembly 17.

The frame 11, which may be constructed of tubular stock has a pair of parallel, downwardly opening, substantially U- shaped side members 18 and 19 which are integral with an end member 22. The side members 18 and 19, which are preferably identical in shape, have horizontal portions 23 and 23A, downwardly extending front legs 24 and 24A, and downwardly extending rear legs 27 and 27A. Relatively soft and flexible caps, such as the cap 26 (FIG. 2), are placed upon the lower ends of the legs 24 and 24A. One or more sleeves 25 (FIG. 8) of relatively soft and flexible material, such as vinyl plastic, are mounted upon the end member 22. The caps 26 and sleeves 25 permit placement of the taper 10 upon the hood of a car, for example, without damaging the finish thereof The horizontal portions 23 and 23A have slots 33 and 34, respectively, in centerally disposed and laterally opposed portion. Said slots slope downwardly and frontwardly of the frame 11 and they open on the inward sides of the side members 18 and 19 to receive the ends of the support roller I2, which is rotatably mounted therein.

Said support roller 12 (FIG. 1) is comprised of a hollow body portion 28, which is cylindrical in shape and a pair of end plugs 29 and 29A disposed in the opposite ends of said body portion. The body portion 28 has inwardly extending dimples 30 adjacent the inner edge of the plug 29A for holding same in position at the end of the roller 12. Similar dimples are provided at the other end of the body portion 28 to position the plug 29. Other means, such as spot welding, may also be used to hold the plugs 29 and 29A in position.

Side end plugs 29 and 29A have integral and coaxial rod portions 32 and 32A which extend into the slots 33 and 34, respectively. Because said slots slant forwardly and downwardly, they prevent accidental disengagement of the roller frame when the rear end is lifted to transport the taper. The body member 28 (FIG. I) of roller 12 is of such a diameter that it will slide snugly but easily through the core 37 of a roll 38 of paper 36. The body member 28 is preferably constructed of metallic tubular material, such as aluminum or steel.

Positioning collars 39 and 42 are slideably received upon the roller 12 on the opposite sides of the roll 38 to prevent lateral displacement of said roll. Said collars may be secured in place by wing screws 43 and 43A, respectively. If desirable and if the paper rolls are of an appropriate size, a second paper roll 44 (FIG. 7) may be mounted on roller 12 for use with, or separately of, roll 38.

Tape holders l3 and 14 (FIG. 1) are mounted upon frame 11 near the rear end thereof. Taper holder 13 has a spool 47 rotatably mounted on a shaft 48 which may be a bolt extending through and secured to the leg 27 by a nut 52. A roll 49 of tape 50 is supported upon the spool 47 which is preferably radially aligned with the edge of the paper roll 38.

An idler arm 58 is adjustably mounted upon the shaft 48 between lock nuts 53 and 54, and between the spool 47 and leg 27. An idler 57, which is provided for guiding tape 54 from the roll 49 thereof onto the edge of the roll 38, is mounted on the arm 58 by a shaft 50.

The tape holder 14 (FIGS. 1,7 and 8), which serves substantially the same purpose as the tape dispenser 13, has a clamp bracket 67 including a support arm 68 having a flange 69 at its lower end receivable into an elongated groove 71 in the end member 22. The clamp plate 72 of clamp bracket 69 has an offset lower end 70 which grips the end member 22 of frame 11, and has a finger 79 which extends through an opening 80 in support arm 68. The plate 72 and arm 68 are securely locked in place upon end member 22 by a wing nut 75 on the bolt 73, which extends through the arm 68 and the plate 72.

The spool 63 is rotatably mounted by a shaft 64 upon a flange 62 which is secured to the outer end of the arm 68. The shaft 64 may be a bolt which is held in place by the lock nuts 61. The spool 63 can be located on either side of the arm 68. An idler arm 76 is pivotally supported upon the shaft 64, and an idler 74 is mounted by shaft 65 upon the outer end of the arm 76 so that said idler is in radial alignment with spool 63.

A tubular guide 77, which is mounted upon the forward end of the frame 11 (FIG. has a pair of annular end plugs 83 and 83A defining shaft openings 84 and 84A through which the rod 78 extends. Rod 78 has a threaded end portion 89 and 90 at the opposite ends thereof with which the nuts 91 and 92 are engaged for rigidifying the front end of the taper and guiding the taped paper away from the roll 38 and beneath the cutter bar assembly.

Cutter bar assembly 17 (FIGS. 1,2 and 3) has a pair of end plates 93 and 94 which may be substantially rectangular in shape and which support a blade assembly 97 extending therebetween. The bladeassembly includes a pair of angleshaped retaining members 101 and 102, the member 101 having end flanges 98 and 98A secured, as by welding, to he end plates 93 and 94, respectively. A cutting blade 103 is removably gripped between the vertical flanges 104 and 107 of the retaining members 101 and 102, respectively, whose horizontal flanges 105 and 106 may be releasably secured to each other by screws or the like. The end plates 93 and 94 are lanced directly beneath the guide 77 to provide hooks 87 and 88 (FIGS. 3 and 11), respectively, to which the opposite ends of a resiliently flexible element 86 are attached. The taped paper 36 is fed between the guide 77 and the element 86, which may be a spiral spring or an elastic cord,

The stripper 108'has a crossbar 109 and a pair of integral end flanges 112 and 113 which are pivotally mounted upon the plates 93 and 94, respectively, by means of integral tabs 114 and 115 which extend inwardly from said plates for reception through appropriate, coaxial openings in said end flanges. A pair of integral tabs 110 and 111 extend from the plates 93 and 94 to limit downward movement of the bar 109, which is normally positioned slightly below and rearwardly of the cutting edge 116 of the blade 103.

Cutter bar assembly 17 (FIGS. 3 and 5) is pivotable about shaft 78 or may be locked in one position by the engagement of locking members 117 and 117A in appropriate holes in end plates 93 ans 94, such as holes 118, 119 and 122 (FIG. 3) in plate 93. Locking member 117 may be comprised of a bolt 123 having a head portion 124, a threaded portion 128 and a reduced tip portion 129. Said bolt 117 extends through a pair of holes 132 and 133 in leg 24, and a nut 134 is engaged with said bolt within the leg. A spring 137 is held under compression within the leg around the bolt 117 between the inside wall of the leg and the nut 134. Accordingly, the spring 137 resiliently urges the locking member 117 toward end plate 93 so that the tip portion 129 will enter any one of the holes 118, 119 and 122 aligned therewith. The position of assembly 17 is changed by urging the bolts 117 and 117A away from each other so that the reduced portions 129 and 129A thereof are removed from one of the holes 118 and 118A, for example. The assembly is then pivoted on shaft 78 until the tip portion 129 can move into another one of said holes.

The locking member 117A, which is preferably identical with locking member 117, is mounted upon leg 24 for releasable engagement with end plate 94.

The end plates 93 and 94 have slots 138 and 139 which permit sliding disengagement of the cutter bar assembly from the shaft 78, when the locking members 117 and 117A are disengaged therefrom, merely by loosening the nuts 91 ans 92.

A drag device 141 is mounted upon the end member 22 (FIG. 10) for the purpose of preventing overrun or backlash of the paper 36 on the roll 38 when it is being removed from the dispenser 10. Specifically, the drag device comprises a clamp bracket 142 which may be substantially identical with the clamp bracket 67 (FIGS. 7 and 8). That is, the clamp bracket 142 has an arm 68A with a flange 69A at its lower end receivable into the lengthwise groove 71A in the end member 22. A clamp plate 72A is clamped against the end member 22 and the arm 68A by a bolt 73A and wing nut 75A.

A strip 143 of elongated flexible metal, such as steel, is rigidly secured to the outer end of the arm 68A and is flexed downwardly as shown in FIG. 10 beneath the roll 38 to engage the peripheral surface thereof whereby a drag is imposed upon the rotation of the roll 38. The arrangement of the drag device 141 is such that the drag is greatest when the roll is largest, hence, when the inertia of the roll is greatest and, therefore, when a serious overrun would be most likely to occur.

OPERATION Although the operation of the apron taper has been indicated above, it will be discussed further hereinbelow to afford a better understanding of the invention.

The apron taper 10 is prepared for use by removing the roller 12 upwardly and rearwardly from the frame 11. Roller 12 is then inserted through the center opening in core 37 of paper roll 38. The collars 39 and 42 are secured in place by wing screws 43 and 43A to position the roll 38. Roller 12 is then returned to its rotatable position in slots 33 and 34. A roll of tape 55 is mounted on spool 47 where it is held by friction. A portion of said tape (FIG. 1) is fed around the idler 62 and caused to adhere to the edge of the roll of paper 38. The combination of paper and tape is then unrolled and fed under roller 77, under stripper bar 109 and under blade 103, which places the apron taper 10 in condition for use.

Each time a portion of taped paper is removed, additional tape is automatically caused to unwind and adhere to the outer layer of paper on roll 38. A selected portion of the taped paper can be removed from the roll 38 by pulling such portion upwardly against the cutting edge 116 in a conventional manner. The stripper 108 moves the free edge of the roll downwardly into a position spaced from said cutting edge for safe manual engagement.

A second roll of paper 44 may be mounted on roller 12, in which case a second roll of tape may be mounted on spool 63. The second tape roll holder 14 will then be positioned, as illustrated in FIG. 7, in alignment with the edge of paper roll 44. In each instance, the corresponding idlers 57 and 74 are preferably positioned to provide adequate, firm contact of the tape with the paper as it is unrolled.

When it is desired to move apron taper 10 from one location to another, the end member 22 may be grasped in one hand and the apron taper 10 lifted and carried thereby. The paper roll 38 will remain in place because of the diagonal positioning ofslots 33 and 34.

ALTERNATE STRUCTURE As shown in FIG. 9, the horizontal portion 23 of the side member 18 may be provided with a circular opening 145 in place of the slot 33 shown in FIG. 6. Accordingly, the rod portion 32 on the end plug 29 (FIG. 1) is inserted axially into the opening 145 (FIG. 9), after which the rod portion 32A (FIG. 1) is moved downwardly and frontwardly into the slot 34.

The modified guide tube shown in FIG. 12 may be similar to the guide 77, but it does not include the end plugs 83 and 83A of FIG. 5. Instead, the end plates, such as the end plate 151 (FIG. 12), are provided with three inwardly offset projections 152 which are preferably equidistant from the rod 78 when it is at the inner end of the slot 138. The projections 152 are preferably substantially equidistant from each other and are located so that their outer edges with respect to the shaft 78' define a circle approximately equal to the inside diameter of the guide tube 150. Thus, when the guide tube 150 is disposed between the end plate 151 and another similar end plate at the opposite end of the tube, the projections 152 on both end plates preferably hold the tube 150 concentric with the rod 78 at all times.

In this particular embodiment, the cutter bar assembly 153, of which the plate 151 is a part, is held in its FIG. 12 position by compressing the plate 151, for example, between the end of the guide tube 150 and the adjacent leg 24 by tightening the nuts at the opposite end of the rod 78, such as the nuts 91 and 92 appearing in FIG. 5.

Although the above-mentioned drawings and description disclose a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which do not depart from the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

Iclaim:

l. A portable device positionable on a support surface which is approximately horizontal for dispensing sheet material from a roll thereof, said device including roll means for supporting a roll of sheet material, elongated guide means for guiding said sheet material as dispensed from said roll, cutter bar means for cutting the sheet material, and stripper means for maintaining the free edge of the sheet material spaced from the cutter bar means, the improvement comprising:

a substantially U-shaped frame structure having a pair of parallel and spaced apart, substantially U-shaped side members, said side members opening downwardly, and an end member extending between and fixedly interconnecting said side members adjacent one end thereof;

each of said side members including an elongated substantially horizontally extending center portion which is disposed a substantial distance above said support surface when said device is positioned thereon and a pair of leg portions fixedly connected to said center portion adjacent the opposite ends thereof, said leg portions each extending downwardly at an angle relative to the elongated direction of the center portion for supporting the device on said support surface, and the lower end of one of the leg portions being fixedly interconnected to an adjacent end of said end member;

said roll means being supported upon and extending between the center portions of said side members, whereby said roll of sheet material is disposed between said leg portions;

said elongated guide means extending between said side members and including elongated rod means extending between said side members and an elongated guide element extending adjacent and substantially parallel to said rod means for reception of said sheet material therebetween;

said cutter bar means being supported upon said frame structure in relatively close proximity to said guide means, said cutter bar means having a cutting edge spaced from and substantially parallel with said rod means and said roll means for cutting said sheet material; and

said stripper means being mounted for pivotal movement relative to said cutter bar means for normally maintaining the free edge of said sheet material spaced from said cutting edge, said stripper means having a movable stripper bar normally disposed between said cutting edge and said rod means and disposed for contacting said sheet material when said sheet material is moved into engagement with said cutting edge.

2. A dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein said elongated guide element comprises an elongated resiliently flexible spring disposed closely adjacent the lower peripheral surface of said rod means;

wherein said cutter bar means includes a cutter bar having said cutting edge formed on the lower edge thereof; and said stripper bar being normally disposed between said cutting edge and said rod means so that it projects below a plane defined by the lower edge of said rod means and said cutting ed e. 3. A dispensing evrce according to claim 1, wherein said 

1. A portable device positionable on a support surface which is approximately horizontal for dispensing sheet material from a roll thereof, said device including roll means for supporting a roll of sheet material, elongated guide means for guiding said sheet material as dispensed from said roll, cutter bar means for cutting the sheet material, and stripper means for maintaining the free edge of the sheet material spaced from the cutter bar means, the improvement comprising: a substantially U-shaped frame structure having a pair of parallel and spaced apart, substantially U-shaped side members, said side members opening downwardly, and an end member extending between and fixedly interconnecting said side members adjacent one end thereof; each of said side members including an elongated substantially horizontally extending center portion which is disposed a substantial distance above said support surface when said device is positioned thereon and a pair of leg portions fixedly connected to said center portion adjacent the opposite ends thereof, said leg portions each extending downwardly at an angle relative to the elongated direction of the center portion for supporting the device on said support surface, and the lower end of one of the leg portions being fixedly interconnected to an adjacent end of said end member; said roll means being supported upon and extending between the center portions of said side members, whereby said roll of sheet material is disposed between said leg portions; said elongated guide means extending between said side members and including elongated rod means extending between said side members and an elongated guide element Extending adjacent and substantially parallel to said rod means for reception of said sheet material therebetween; said cutter bar means being supported upon said frame structure in relatively close proximity to said guide means, said cutter bar means having a cutting edge spaced from and substantially parallel with said rod means and said roll means for cutting said sheet material; and said stripper means being mounted for pivotal movement relative to said cutter bar means for normally maintaining the free edge of said sheet material spaced from said cutting edge, said stripper means having a movable stripper bar normally disposed between said cutting edge and said rod means and disposed for contacting said sheet material when said sheet material is moved into engagement with said cutting edge.
 2. A dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein said elongated guide element comprises an elongated resiliently flexible spring disposed closely adjacent the lower peripheral surface of said rod means; wherein said cutter bar means includes a cutter bar having said cutting edge formed on the lower edge thereof; and said stripper bar being normally disposed between said cutting edge and said rod means so that it projects below a plane defined by the lower edge of said rod means and said cutting edge.
 3. A dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein said side members and said end members are formed from a single tubular element.
 4. A dispensing device according to claim 1, wherein said guide means and said cutter bar means extend between and fixedly said side members adjacent the end thereof opposite said end member. 